Sen. Klobuchar on federal officers at polling locations, as the Protect Our Polls Act is introduced
U.S. senator from Minnesota and co-sponsor of the Protect Our Polls Act
“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and the freedom to vote is fundamental Yet we continue to see unprecedented attacks on our democracy and on voting rights, as well as concerns that federal officers could be deployed to polling locations to intimidate voters. This legislation reiterates that those attempts at voter intimidation are unlawful and protects Americans’ constitutional right to vote.”
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Sen. Elissa Slotkin's press release announcing the Protect Our Polls Act, which she introduced with seven Democratic senators. It summarizes the bill and quotes each co-sponsor.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Official statement
About this source
Sen. Alex Padilla's press release announcing the Protect Our Polls Act, which eight Democratic senators introduced. It summarizes the bill, quotes the co-sponsors and includes a transcript of Padilla's remarks.
Before the quotation
Sen. Elissa Slotkin's office said the Protect Our Polls Act, introduced on June 18, 2026 with seven Democratic co-sponsors, would further restrict the deployment of military forces and armed federal agents to polling places. It would require Congress to pass a joint resolution of approval before the president could send troops or federal law enforcement to election sites under the one exception to the existing ban.
After the quotation
The release says Slotkin has repeatedly asked Trump administration nominees about sending troops to polling places and that she questioned Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about sending ICE to the polls.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should ICE and other armed federal agents be allowed at or near polling places in the 2026 election?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the administration's stated or threatened use of ICE and other armed federal agents at or near polling places in the 2026 election. Klobuchar said there are concerns that federal officers could be deployed to polling locations to intimidate voters, and that the Protect Our Polls Act reiterates that such attempts at voter intimidation are unlawful. That rejects deploying federal officers to polling places for that purpose, so we labeled it Condemned rather than Mixed or conditional.
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Should ICE and other armed federal agents be allowed at or near polling places in the 2026 election?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“The last thing we want is for people to not have confidence in their elections and not show up. So … if that's something that they decide that they need to look at, then that's fine with me”Read statement
“We are taking strong, joint legal action to block Donald Trump’s threats to deploy federal agents, including ICE and FBI agents, to polling places this November. … Federal law explicitly forbids voter intimidation and stationing armed federal agents at polling places.”Read statement
“There is no reason for masked, armed agents to be at polling places like churches, schools, and libraries other than to intimidate eligible voters from making their voices heard. My bill will stop the President from sending armed troops to our local polling places and make sure you can access the ballot box and have your voice heard.”Read statement